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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · march · lash · wake · band · perch · wave · straw

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. march — music
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wake — a trail
  9. band — a music group
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. march — the month
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. march — the month
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. perch — the fish
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. band — a ring
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com